Biblical authority

January 27, 2013

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he receive them, for they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). This is certainly the situation involving a recent letter to the editor entitled "The Real Sinners", in which the writer chided Christians for holding to God's moral laws but failing to hold to Old Testament dietary rules and prescriptions for stoning for various offenses.

What the writer fails to understand is that Jesus Christ manifested Himself as God in the flesh (Galatians 4:4), and that He came not to destroy the Law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). The ceremonial and civil laws of the Old Testament were designed to keep God's remnant of true believers within the Old Testament nation of Israel separate from the pagan, wicked cultures of the world. The ceremonial sacrifices were never meant to atone for sin in and of themselves, but only pointed to the Saviour who would come to be the once and for all Sacrifice (Galatians 3:24; Hebrews 10:10-14).

The Old Testament penalties were often typical in their nature, but, despite the more free availability of the grace of God through the Gospel, the cynic must never forget that there is a Day of Judgment appointed for the wicked (Isaiah 45:23; Philippians 2:10).

The writer calls Christians foolish and asserts that the Bible is "an eclectic collection of parables, fables, and stories written and changed over thousands of years by many cultures." While it is true that many modern "translators" have done just that in order to reinterpret and reshape Scriptures to their own liking, in hopes of somehow justifying or condoning their sinful practices, the underlying authority of the Bible cannot be negated so easily.